NETPLAYTV LAUNCHES CELEBRITY TV BINGO Leading UK television stars contracted for new showThe AIM-listed interactive gambling group NetPlay TV plc has secured a deal with both Jim Bowen, plus Cannon and Ball to join their host bingo presenter, Greg Scott for the launch of a brand new TV programme, Celebrity TV Bingo.The show will be hosted by Greg Scott, who will be joined by ex-Bulleyes presenter, Jim Bowen, and comedians, Cannon and Ball to host a daily bingo show aired ... Read more

888.COM AND NEXTGEN TO TEAM UP New games will flow from partnership for white label licenseesGibraltar-based online gambling group 888.com has signed an agreement with game design studio NextGen Gaming for the supply of interactive online wagering games for use on the Internet.NextGen's games have a sound track record in the gaming industry, and the agreement allows NextGen's most popular gaming titles to be made available to customers of 888 and of 888's white label partners. The games' content will ... Read more

RECORD CANADIAN JACKPOT Easter good fortune boosts 53 year old Ontario woman's bank balance by almost Cdn$ 9 million The Easter bunny brought a Toronto area woman and her family the treat of a lifetime over the Easter weekend, when she discovered she had won close to Cdn$ 9 million on a progressive at [land] Casino Rama. Anna Falco (53) of Woodbridge, Ontario had been playing the popular Megabucks Wide Area Progressive slot machines for close to an hour when ... Read more

IT AIN'T OVER UNTIL THE GOVERNOR SINGS (Update) Massachusetts chief ploughs ahead with $189 000 casino study despite recent House defeatThe Boston Globe reports that Governor Deval Patrick is pushing forward with a $189 000 casino study, even though his plan for bringing casino-style gambling to the state is dead in the water until at least next January following a debate by the state legislature (see previous InfoPowa reports) .Responding to questions about the study, Daniel O'Connell, state economic development secretary, ... Read more

GETTING A LITTLE HELP FROM YOUR FRIENDS PPA launches new Litigation Support NetworkThe 900 000 member poker grassroots advocacy group Poker Players Alliance (PPA) has launched its Litigation Support Network. This free member service will provide basic, initial legal advice as well as refer members to a network of attorneys who have expressed interest in helping PPA members with poker-related legal issues. "As both the popularity of poker and the membership of PPA continue to grow, the Litigation Support Network ... Read more

JACKPOT FACTORY PROMOTES ONLINE CASINO EXECUTIVEDavid Brickman takes on new position of Vice President of Player Affairs The online player community is to have a direct management contact following the Jackpot Factory online casino group announcement this week that its long-time spokesperson, David Brickman, will be assuming the new role of Vice President of Player Affairs with immediate effect. Brickman will be heavily involved in the day-to-day business of player affairs and work in tandem with the casino group’s 24/7 customer support centre. ... Read more

MORE DETAILS ON NEW ONLINE LOTTO (Update)Individual sales restrictions planned, but has the Minister actually approved the rules?On 17 March the Lotteries Commission in New Zealand announced that it would soon begin offering Lotto tickets online, making this popular form of gambling an exception to the general ban on Internet gambling in the country (see previous InfoPowa report). On Easter Monday the Dominion Post ran a follow-up story under the headline "Online Lotto first of two stage plan, says ... Read more

EXPERT CAUTIOUS ON BODOG HANDLING OF PATENTS ISSUE "Frankly, the way Calvin Ayre is conducting himself is incredibly prejudicial," opines patents executive A patents expert enlivened Easter weekend reading on the controversial 1st Technologies vs. Bodog dispute over patents with his opinion on the confrontation, saying that Bodog founder and chief Calvin Ayre's lawyers must "having fits" over the way in which some of the exchanges between the companies have been handled. Ronald J. Riley, President of the Alliance for American Innovation ... Read more

MASSACHUSETTES LIKE TP GAMBLE State lost out on $233 million in tax last yearThe recent furore in the Massachusetts state legislature over Governor Deval Patrick's rejected proposal to launch three land resort casinos and ban online gambling has focused attention on the state and its gambling proclivities, with a recent study indicating that neighbouring states are reaping big rewards from Massachusetts players.A new study has found Massachusetts residents spent $1.1 billion at Connecticut casinos and Rhode Island slot parlours last year, ... Read more

INTERNET ADDICTION SURFACES AGAINNew evidence confirms that heavy users suffer isolation, fatigue and withdrawal symptomsOne of 2007's media stories that achieved most international coverage was the results of an American survey on Internet addiction, and the phenomenon could be about to be repeated following the publication of a an editorial in the highly respected American Journal of Psychiatry by Dr. Jerald Block.UK newspaper The Observer picked up the story, reporting that Internet addiction is now a serious public health issue ... Read more